Midnight City
by PWRDOWN
Summary: AU: Police!Paige & Bartender!Emily.
1. 01

"McCullers to central, I'm in pursuit of the suspect on foot," She breathed into her radio as she sprinted, trying her best to close the distance between her and the man before her. "I need backup here,"

"10-4 Officer McCullers. What's your 20?"

Her brown eyes quickly glanced at the emerald street sign, "Northbound on Craig Street," Paige McCullers hated runners; she hated the fact that each of them had a sense of hope that they could easily outrun herself – the law. Now Paige was in the best physical shape among most of the officers that she worked with; years of training allowed her to have top of the line endurance, her competitive streak in both high school and college made her push herself to the extreme – to max of her limits. "Sir! Stop where you are!" She knew this tactic wouldn't work; never did, but hearing her voice and the proximity frightened him – she was closer than he thought.

Before she knew it, he darted into an alleyway. It was a red flag for Paige; she had no back up, no idea where this path would lead, and chasing a man who may or may not have a weapon on him. But she couldn't let him go.

The alleyway was dark; black puddles of water lie idle on the ground – only rippled when Paige stepped through them. She took out her issued gun as a precaution when she realized that her suspect was no longer running. The man had stopped in front of her, and in front of him was a brick wall. No way to escape whatsoever. "Sir, please turn around with your hands behind your head," Paige ordered, her tone harsh.

Silently, he lifted his hands in the air and slowly placed his hands behind his head, intertwining his fingers against his shaved head. She approached him cautiously; gun first. She could hear his panting – deep, unsteady breaths. When she deemed it was safe, she placed her gun back in its holster on her hip, and took out handcuffs. She grasped his wrists tightly, pulling one down to the small of his back, latching on the handcuff, and continued to do the same to the other.

"Jerry Sinclair, you are under arrest for drug distribution. You have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the fut—"

"You fucking pig," He interrupted, his voice gruff.

She shook off his comment, "Now or in the future," She repeated, "If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish. If you decide to answer any questions now, without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?"

"Fuck you, bitch," He spat, hoping to strike a nerve in the young officer.

"No thanks," Paige smirked and took her radio in hand, "McCullers to central, suspect has been apprehended,"

* * *

"I'm so proud of you, kiddo," James Warner, Paige's mentor, said happily as he brought up the perspiring mug of beer to his lips – taking a long sip. "You've come a long way," He smiled crookedly, his white mustache arched upward.

Paige repeated his movements, taking a sip of her own drink, "Thanks, couldn't have gotten this far without you," She said wholeheartedly. She eyed his beer, "Want me to get you some more?"

James examined his cup, determining that he didn't have too many sips left. "Sure," She took his mug in hand, and got up, heading towards the bar. James was like a father she never had but always wanted. When they met, four years ago - Paige was twenty, rebellious, and had no sense of direction despite the fact that she was highly intelligent and passionate. He'd walked into her life when he pulled over in his squad car, questioned her like she now questioned her suspects, and placed her in the backseat of the car.

But that was the beginning to a new life; James didn't arrest her. Instead, he scolded her, and, despite the numerous scoffs the young girl gave, she listened. From there, he'd been by her side, helping her achieve further in life.

Paige set his mug onto the bar's counter, "I'd like a refill," She said vaguely, to no one in particular, just to whoever would hear her request.

"Beer?" Called a voice, not too light, but certainly not a deep voice. Paige gazed at the young woman behind the bar. Paige didn't recognize her. But she nodded anyways, "Coming right up." The woman took James's mug, and began to fill more beer into it. Paige closely watched her movements; '_Definitely new,' _she thought, observing the way she filled the beer – too much foam.

It didn't faze her though. She found herself staring at the bronze woman before her. The young woman was indeed pretty, and something about her radiated and drew Paige in like a mosquito to a flame.

"Here you go," She said, handing the mug back to Paige, "That's five dollars,"

"Thank you," Paige said, taking a crisp ten-dollar bill from her leather jacket pocket, sliding it across the counter, whilst taking the mug from her. The exchange was short, very simple, and Paige felt cheated out of time, but said nothing else.

She turned around, beer in hand, and walked back to James, who was smirking at her like a Cheshire cat. He looked ridiculous, but his hazel eyes spoke of everything and nothing at all; _'He knows'_.

"So, Paige," He said as she sat down in her chair, "Tell me; when was the last time you went out on a date?"

She blushed slightly, "I don't have—"

"If you say 'time', you're certainly lying,"

"I don't have the time." James shook his head. "And I'm not lying," She argued. "I really don't have time."

"And yet, you're sitting here with me, having a beer… because you don't have time." His smirk grew, "Why don't you go over and say hi or something, whatever your flirting method is."

"_Flirting method_?"

"Yeah, that." He took his beer from Paige and waved his hand at her, dismissively, "Go on, say hi." Paige scoffed, but got up anyways. James sipped his beer, getting foam on his mustache, "Mm, too foamy."

Paige was back at the counter, waiting for the young bartender to come her way again. James meddled too much. Despite she was up there, about to choose her _flirting method_, it was definitely not the last time he'd bug her about it.

"Uh, excuse me," She called to the bartender, who was lazily wiping the counter on the opposite end. The young woman craned her head towards Paige with a smile.

"How can I help you?" She asked, stopping her previous movements and making her way towards Paige. "Another refill?"

"Well, no." Paige nervously rubbed the back of her head. _Come on Paige. _"I was curious about a few things."

"Okay…"

"What's your name?" She asked hesitantly, "I've never seen you here before,"

"My name is Emily, and I started working here last night."

_Emily._

"And… uh," Emily looked at Paige patiently, "Are you s-single?" Paige looked at the ground as she asked the question. She had no reason to mask the question, but the bluntness was so out of character for her.

Emily narrowed her eyes in confusion at the redhead before her, "Are you trying to ask me out?"

Paige snapped her head up, "Let's just pretend that I didn't come up here and ask you that," She pleaded, assuming that she was barking up the wrong tree. She began to walk away.

"Hey," Emily said, grabbing Paige's wrist, efficiently stopping the girl in her tracks, "I'm serious,"

"Yeah, I'm _trying_"

"Well, I am single." Emily said, "But what's your name?" She laughed lightly, "I think it would be a little awkward agreeing to a date or whatnot to someone I don't even know – name-wise, that is,"

"Uh, I'm," _Officer, _"Paige McCullers," She introduced. Paige pulled her wrist from Emily's lingering grasp from earlier, and gripped her hand gently, "I'm Paige."

"Nice to meet you," Emily shook their hands.

Paige opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of beeping interrupted, "Damn," she muttered, looking at Emily apologetically. Her eyes gazed on her pager on her hip. "Damn," She repeated. Work called her in. "I'm sorry, I have to go." She took out her phone, "Can I have your phone number?"

"Sure," Emily said, smiling softly.

* * *

**Note:** Hi guys, it's me.

Here's a story, please enjoy.

Anyways, here's something I wrote today. I'm thinking of making this a fairly short series, possibly five to eight chapters - and I'll be skipping along with time too. I don't know, I suppose it depends on the response I get. So here's a pair; Police!Paige and Bartender!Emily? Whoa. Enjoy, review maybe? I'll get something up soon (I haven't forgotten about Tangled Up in Plaid, I promise).


	2. 02

Paige fell back on her bed with a soft thud; she was well beyond exhausted from work. Her body was stiff and sore from all of the physical obstacles that day had placed on her. After the four years she'd spent working for the Rosewood Police Department, that day had to be the most hectic. Firstly, she was called to defuse a domestic disturbance, which turned violent as soon as she arrived on scene; the woman smacked Paige with her purse before taking off in the opposite direction, and the other woman on scene tried to engage in a fistfight. It didn't stop there. As soon as both of the women were arrested, she was called to yet another situation of the same kind.

The second call turned out to be more than she could handle alone; there were four suspects, one was armed with a gun, and another with a knife. Paige knew better than to approach them alone. As soon as her cover officers arrived, they went to apprehend the four of them, which only proved to be difficult. Of course, _no one _wants to be arrested, but it's different from people who have the mindset of _doing anything _not to be arrested. Paige had managed to wrestle one of them down; deemed harder than expected. He placed a great fight but essentially lost.

The young officer could only take so much.

She sat up after a few minutes and rubbed her chin, where the woman had smacked her – _Man she had a strong arm. _It was sure to bruise over the next few hours, but it was nothing that she never had before. She would be sure to ice it later. Paige sighed, and got out of bed, she couldn't stay there.

"Man," She breathed as she stretched - pulling her arms up, flexing her tight muscles. Just as she finished stretching, her phone chimed. The light melody played through her apartment, and she smiled slightly, making her way to the sound. Paige picked up her phone and slid her thumb across the touch screen, "Hello,"

"Hi, I was wondering if you were still on for our date tonight," Said the angelic voice on the other end, speaking with straightforwardness. Paige's smile grew wider.

"We're still on, Emily,"

"Are you sure?" She asked; Paige could only imagine the look of the bronze beauty on the other line as she asked this question. "I mean, I know you've probably had a rough day at work, so I won't hold it against you or anything if you say no."

"I wouldn't miss our date for anything in the world," She heard a sigh on the other end, "So, I'll pick you up in about an hour?" Paige said more than asked.

"Yes,"

"I'll see you then, Emily,"

"See you soon,"

They ended their called and Paige stared at her phone smiling. She couldn't help it; work took up most of her life – she'd devoted herself to the job and never gave herself any time to do whatever she wanted. Now, she had finally found someone who both appreciated herself and her devotion to the law.

It had been a great three weeks since they met, Emily learned about Paige's background – her family, habits, and close friends, past relationships. And Paige learned the same from Emily. As they spent more time together – the occasional date, the visits between lunch breaks – they grew attached, and never spent a day without talking to each other.

Paige looked at the time. She only had a few minutes before she would have to go pick up Emily from her apartment. She still needed to shower to wash the day's filth off, and prepare herself for the wonderful date that was in store for the evening.

* * *

"Wow, Em, you look magnificent," Paige breathed, a large smirk planted on her face. Emily smiled graciously, appreciating Paige's comment. She was dressed in a simple black dress that clung to each of her curves and stopped just above her knees. Paige's eyes unsubtly raked over her attire, she licked her lips.

"I hope I'm not overdressed,"

"Oh, no, not at all." Paige said, stepping closer to Emily, "You look wonderful," Paige felt slightly underdressed, however. She wore a pair of black slacks and tucked in a white button down shirt – very boyish, but suited her style. "Shall we go?" She asked with a smile.

"Of course," Emily said, grabbing her purse, and then linking her arm with Paige's. Emily personally loved being close to Paige; she loved the smell of Paige, the heat that always radiated from her, how Paige would subconsciously pull Emily closer. It made her feel special – like she meant something to someone. Not to say that she'd never felt that way, but it had been a while – a few years, actually.

But Paige lingered on Emily's mind. She thought of Paige frequently; her lips, her voice, that cute head-dip Paige does when she's flustered. Emily couldn't help the thoughts; Paige McCullers was infectious.

Emily understood Paige, and liked her just for who she was and what she stood for. Plus, Paige was extremely attractive and cute, even when she was embarrassed.

"What are you smiling about?" Paige asked curiously with a smile on her face as well.

"Nothing, really," Emily said shyly, "Just, about you,"

"Is that so?" Emily nodded, "What about me?"

The two had made their way outside; the crisp air of night was all around them. Emily especially loved the night; the area she lived in would illuminate with lights – tons of colors giving breathtaking views when Emily looked below from her room. She had walked around at nighttime with her friends many times, but never thought it would feel so intimate with Paige.

"I'm just thinking of how much I like you,"

"Oh? Well, I like you, too," Paige stopped in front of the restaurant she had picked out for them to dine at, "Very much,"

* * *

Emily was grateful of the proximity of where she lived and where the restaurant was located. She and Paige had a great night of sharing stories, eating delicious foods, and drinking numerous glasses of wine. Though, she was sober enough, Paige was not. Emily could almost laugh at Paige; they'd have the same amount of wine, but she didn't realize that this hard police officer was such a lightweight.

"You know you're so pretty," Paige said to Emily with a light slur as Emily guided the two of them up to her apartment, "Like really, really pretty. I'm serious."

She chuckled, "Thanks Paige,"

"I really like you,"

"I know that,"

"Like, really, really, like you." Emily fished her keys from her purse and opened her door quickly, ushering Paige in first and then herself, locking the door behind them, "You're so amazing,"

"Thanks,"

"Em-i-ly," Paige wrapped her arms tightly around her, "I really like you,"

"I really like you too,"

Paige kissed her cheek, and Emily felt a shudder run down her spine, "Yay,"

"Are you tired at all?"

"Not very much so." Emily laughed at Paige's word choices, "Do I look tired?"

She shrugged, "A little, but I want you to rest,"

"Does this mean that we'll sleep together?" Emily blushed, "I'll be good, I promise,"

"I'm sure, but I can sleep on the couch,"

"Nooooooo~" Paige whined, slightly tightening her hug on Emily, "Let's sleep together,"

"Paige—"

"Please~?"

Emily grinned, "Okay,"

* * *

Note: Hi guys, it's me again. How are you? At least, in this story, Paily's in a good place.

Well, here's another chapter. I'm sorry if it's not... well, I don't know, satisfactory. I bounced around. I tend to do that. But, I hope you enjoy. I like knowing people are happy with this story. So, leave some reviews behind; let me get in your head, okay?


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